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Joe Hoeffel
Background * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hoeffel * D * Ran for US Senate against Arlen Specter, R, and lost by plenty in 2004. * Said he was going to run for Lt. Governor in 2006, but backed out of the race after saying he would NOT do so. Details Looks like Joe Hoeffel got a pretty sweet deal and a $103,000/year job from Ed Rendell. Is Joe the best qualified candidate for the job? Or is this the payoff we all expected after Joe got in the race for Lt. Gov. and then backed out the next day after a "meeting" with Ed? Politics-as-usual strikes again. * Wire | 07/12/2006 | GOP says Hoeffel hiring is Rendell payback Associated Press, HARRISBURG, Pa. - The state Republican party on Wednesday accused Gov. Ed Rendell of paying back a political favor when his administration hired Joe Hoeffel four months after the former congressman dropped his challenge to Rendell's running mate. On Monday, Hoeffel began his $104,431-a-year job heading the state's Office of International Business Development, a job that had been vacant for about 18 months. Links Media / Blogs * http://aboveavgjane.blogspot.com/2006/04/catching-up-interview-with-joe-hoeffel.html Blogs June 22, 2005 20 Questions with Joe Hoeffel My first interviewee is none other than former US Congressman Joe Hoeffel. He's recently launched his own website and accompanying blog and has graciously agreed to "sit down" for this tête-á-tête, that's French for keyboard-to-keyboard. Why a blog and why now? I hope the blog on Joe Hoeffel & Friends will help rally the progressive community and serve as a sounding board for liberal opinion in the state. I want to be part of that effort and there is no time like the present. You seem to be a Progressive politician, why not back the Progressive candidate Chuck Pennacchio? Chuck is a good man with sound, progressive ideas. I am supporting Bob Casey for Senate because Bob is the strongest candidate to defeat Rick Santorum. The 2006 Senate election is incredibly important to Pennsylvania and the country. Democrats of all viewpoints need to support enthusiastically our strongest challenger. You engaged your supporters through the internet in your 2004 campaign. Seeing the results you yourself had and the results Seth Williams had in May, where do you see the internet – blogs/sites – fitting into the larger media picture? The internet has become fundamentally important to political campaigns. No campaign's media strategy can be complete without a plan for internet outreach, organizing and fundraising. The success of Dean, Kerry, MoveOn, DFA and others has made websites and blogs essential to campaigns. You ran as an underdog against Specter, what advice do you have for the other underdogs out there running in smaller campaigns across the region? What advice would you give to a first time candidate in a public election? Something smaller, say, for school, neighborhood and city levels. Go for it. Everybody who cares about public policy and the quality of life in their community should run for public office at least once in their lives, and – win or lose -- it will be an experience like no other. Don't be intimidated, running for office is all about making friends. If you can make friends at the water cooler or over the back fence, then you have the skills to run successfully for public office. Why aren't you running for Senate in 2006? Why not build on the momentum you had in the 2004 race? I would love to be running against Rick Santorum in 2006. What a great opponent! But it is clear to me that Bob Casey is the strongest Democratic candidate to run against Santorum. Once Bob decided to run for the Senate and told me he was fully committed to the race, I decided to support him enthusiastically. We must defeat Santorum. Politics seems to be heading further and further to the extremes of each major party. Do you think that running as a centrist can really garner the votes needed to win a major election these days? The advocates and partisans may be moving to the extremes but I am not sure the voters are. Now, no question that Bush won re-election by appealing to and turning out his conservative base. But even all that right wing pandering would not have worked if voters had liked and trusted John Kerry more, and Kerry's problems were not due to his positions which most Americans liked. Voters are looking for candidates they know, trust and feel comfortable with who are speaking clearly and sensibly about things the voters care about. Left, right or center, Kerry didn't meet those standards and neither does Santorum, for different reasons. Casey does. Considering that those on the extremes are much more likely to vote than the apathetic ones without much of a defined opinion on all of the issues, those belonging to the extremes have become de facto leaders of opinion simply by having one. Do you see politics going further and further to the extremes? Yes, if the casual voters in the center don't pay attention, particularly in primaries. But general elections are still usually won in the broad middle ground of American political opinion, not on the extremes. Do you think that by putting up a candidate that is more to the Right it is, in effect, moving the entire Democratic Party further to the Right? If you mean Bob Casey, he is not on the right and the PA Democrats won't move to the right because of him, certainly not on the economic, pocketbook issues which define the Democratic party historically. Casey is not a conservative, rightwing, extreme, dogmatic or holier-than-thou politician. Bob is a traditional, pro-labor, pro-working family Democrat with many progressive views and a strong commitment to economic and social justice and civil and human rights who is also pro-life. You were arrested in July of 2004 outside of the Sudanese embassy. Do you think that Casey would do something like that, risking arrest, to get his message out to the people? Do you think Pennacchio would? I hope they both would. The genocide in Darfur continues and the U.S., the U.N. and the rest of the world haven't done enough to stop it. I am proud that my wife Francesca and I volunteered for arrest and conducted non-violent civil disobedience and more people need to speak out against the Sudanese government. Do you see Americans ever showing up to vote in the numbers that other highly developed nations in Europe see? Why don't more Americans get to the polls? What can we the people do to get those numbers up and what can the government do? I've heard for years that one solution could be to declare Election Day a national holiday; do you think that would help? Or would it just be another day off. I am frustrated by low voter turnouts in this country. Mostly I blame politicians for running uninteresting campaigns, if not downright disgusting ones. Making Election Day a national holiday is not a bad idea, but it really isn't hard to vote in this country. It would be nice if voters consistently punished the bad, slimy politicians and rewarded the good ones. Do you read blogs on a daily basis? Which ones? What about those blog keeps you coming back? What makes a blog successful? I have not read blogs on a daily basis but that is quickly changing. Blogs should be current, cutting edge, accessible and not too damn serious. Blogging is quite a time-intensive activity, how much of your day/week does it take up? I've spoken with Dan Rubin of Blinq, the Inquirer's new blog, and he now blogs as a job from sunrise to well after sunset. Do you ever see yourself taking this venture in that direction? No, I won't ever be an all day blogger. How can anybody stand that? Why do you think blogging has become as popular as it has in the last few years? Do you see the market of political blogs becoming oversaturated? Blogging gives everyone a chance to get into the act and have their say. That is really a great thing and fundamental to a democracy. Voting twice a year (you all vote twice a year, don't you?) just isn't enough participation for most of us. I believe, and hope, that political blogs are here to stay. Philadelphia is considered by a lot of folks to be a pseudo blog capital city of sorts, any idea as to why Philly has become an epicenter of this digital medium? The water? Where will you be during Live 8? Not there. Chris Bowers of MyDD has argued that Philadelphia's politics is in a kind of stagnant state due to the Democratic Party's stronghold on the city for decades. Payolas are made on the behalf of the candidates the higher ups believe should be elected and some of the true Progressives out there are being left in the dust. What do you think can be done to either dispel that statement or if true, what can be done to break down that wall? If true progressives are being left in the dust, then we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get into the game. The reform group Neighborhood Networks is a good place to start. And don't give up on the Democratic party organization. There are many good people there who really care about the city. Who were your political influences and what made you seek public office? I first became interested in politics due to my opposition to the Vietnam War. Accordingly, the first candidate I supported was George McGovern when I was in college, and rose to the high office of co-chair of Boston University Students for McGovern. He made me understand that the way to influence foreign policy is through domestic politics. Although I don't agree with him as much as I used to, McGovern remains my all-time favorite. What about politics makes you want to quit it all and leave it behind? Nothing. Never happen. It is in my blood. What kind of an impact has holding public office had on your family? Great question and I may not be the best to answer this. I am sure it has been a pain in their necks at times. My wife campaigned like a trooper in the 2004 Senate race and was a huge asset (people still ask for her everywhere I go), but she and our two children have certainly felt the strains of a political career intruding on family life. Francesca has done a remarkable job managing her career as a school nurse while providing a stable and happy home for the kids. Our daughter Mary also campaigned hard in 2004 all over the state, and was a particular favorite at Democratic State Committee meetings. My favorite family moment on the campaign trail came some time ago when our son Jake was a young teenager and he responded to a hostile question about me from an aggressive reporter with a look, a grunt and said "Proud of my dad". I'll never forget it. Pat's or Geno's? Lee's Thank you for your time Joe, as a parting gift, I'd like to offer you, my first interviewee all subsequent interviewees, a framed 8"x10" print from the archives of my photoblog so head on over, take a stroll through and pick one out. I'll have it mailed to your office. I hope you enjoyed that and learned a little something about Joe, his blog, his politics and most importantly, where he gets his cheesesteaks. And a special thank you to Hilary, who is a part of Joe's team, for making this interview possible. June 22, 2005 at 01:31 AM in Politics, Q & A | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2690377 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 20 Questions with Joe Hoeffel: » Thursday Blogaround from PSoTD A few highlights from the blogroll... From After-Party: A Jessamine County woman is looking for work after bein... More Tracked on June 23, 2005 at 10:01 AM Comments Congrats on a great interview. I don't know PA politics other than Ed Rendell and the evil Rick Santorum but I read the whole interview because I was really impressed that you did it. If you keep this up, you just might make the Philly blog famous! Posted by: Jim | June 22, 2005 at 09:21 AM Thanks for taking a read Jim. I think that the 2006 Senate race in PA will be the spotlight race across the nation because of Sanitorium's stature in his party. And yes, this little space of mine may become famous one day - now to purchase me a nice mind control device, to eBay! And this is a simple example of how accessible people really are. Shoot off an email to someone you'd like to interview. If you can demonstrate, one way or another, that you have an informed opinion and some general knowledge about the interviewee, s/he may very well decide to take you on. What's the worst that can happen? That they reply with an email stating "No" and I think we can all live with that. Citizen / net/grassroots journalism at its simplest. Posted by: Albert | June 22, 2005 at 09:31 AM Nice get and excellent questions. Very impressive. Posted by: Mark | June 22, 2005 at 11:55 AM Great interview, Albert! It's great to see that Joe Hoeffel took the time to answer your questions thoughtfully and honestly. I take issue with only only two statements: I am supporting Bob Casey for Senate because Bob is the strongest candidate to defeat Rick Santorum. That remains to be seen, doesn't it? After all, that's what primaries are supposed to decide. No, I won't ever be an all day blogger. How can anybody stand that? Sure, you'll start off slowly, Congressman Hoeffel. But before you know it, you'll be obssessed with blogging, and we'll start hearing about what you eat for lunch every day! Posted by: Matt | June 22, 2005 at 06:48 PM Albert, well done. I liked the questions...and Joe's honesty. I must admist I was disappointed when he didn't run against Santorum...he put up a great fight against Arlen Specter, and I think he has great name recognition...but I know this fight is national and the DNC is sticking its hand in here. Thanks for the great reportage. We look forward to more. Cheers. Posted by: Frank | June 22, 2005 at 07:19 PM Excellent interview, Albert! I'm glad you hooked Joe, though I was half expecting a follow-up from you on the Casey query (don't know if the format of your Q&A allowed for follow-ups, though). Posted by: howard | June 23, 2005 at 01:47 AM Great interview. Such astute questions, and a cool subject. I'm so pleased for you. My little intern, all grown up. Posted by: herkimer | June 23, 2005 at 05:14 PM Great interview!! I was hoping at least one Tim Russert- gotcha type question. I must say though, the Chessesteak question is always an important Philly question. Posted by: ajayi | June 23, 2005 at 06:28 PM Hey Herkimer, who the hell are you? Back from the Vibe days? Nerve? SSN? I can think of a few names: ldv, gp, dp, rr, jlk, hag? Posted by: albert | June 23, 2005 at 06:41 PM Happy to do it! Bloggers, send me an email (info@joehoeffelandfriends.com) if you want to do something similar. Posted by: Hilary | June 24, 2005 at 01:52 PM Albert, Great seeing you at Drinking Liberally two nights ago. Terrific job on your interview with Joe Hoeffel. Keep slugging away. We progressives are going to knock down institutional walls for all the right reasons: because we care about each other, we are committed to our constitution, and we don't back down from the fights that must be waged. You d'man! Chuck Posted by: Chuck | June 30, 2005 at 12:59 AM Thanks Chuck. I stand beside you in this fight. And no, YOU d'man. Why Did Joe Hoeffel Back Out? March 10, 2006 After receiving a couple emails yesterday about Joe Hoeffel backed out of the Lt. Governor's race, I'm thinkink Joe Trippi had a hand in all this. Hoeffel's campaign manager was Daren Berringer who works for Trippi's firm, a person I met and spoke with very very briefly during Live8 here in Philly. From what I can tell, he was part of Trippi's organizational team for the concert. Up until I got the email from Berringer yesterday thanking Hoeffel's supporters for their support, I had no idea he was involved in the campaign. I had no idea Trippi was involved in any matter in Hoeffel's campaign. Trippi was apparently in Philly this week and stopped by Drinking Liberally Tuesday night. I wondered what he was in town for. I know that he's involved in Tom Knox, the guy who has already plunked down $15M for his 2007 Philadelphia Mayoral bid. And then I get the email from Berringer yesterday afternoon about Hoeffel dropping out of the race. Was there a late night meeting with Hoeffel, Trippi and maybe The Hoagiemeister too? Was Catherine Baker Knoll there too basking in it all? If Trippi was involved in this, it's interesting he's taken such a keen interest in PA/Philly politics as of late. Hoeffel's own email was sent out within the hour after Berringer's email went out. He went on and on about how he was going to do his best to keep The Hoagiemeister in the Governor's mansion and that he hoped his supporters would continue to support The Hoagiemeister's run for Governor. It's a lot to chew on. Joe's lost a lot of credibility in my eyes and in the eyes of many people I know here in Philly and around Philly. I don't see him getting much support from what is left of his supporters and from The Hoagiemeister down the road. On the bright side, we do have Valerie McDonald Roberts to support in her run to be our next Lt. Governor. More about her soon. March 10, 2006 at 10:16 AM in Politics | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/4425577 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Why Did Joe Hoeffel Back Out?: Comments Daren was Joe's political director in 2004, before he joined the Trippi organization. (And I worked directly under Daren.) This was all about Ed changing his mind. Nothing more. Posted by: Adam B | March 10, 2006 at 11:08 AM I would stop trying to guess on this one. If you looked at Joe's announcement tour schedule, you would see that he was in Harrisburg the night he talked to Rendell. Posted by: | March 10, 2006 at 12:07 PM yeah, I think it was Ed, and that Hoeffel has more, not less, of my sympathy after this incident. it's *Rendell* who's slipping ever lower on my decency meter... Posted by: acm | March 10, 2006 at 12:53 PM Well I think you may have thought about this a little too hard. No, Trippi was not involved with Hoeffel. I work with Trippi doing media and political consulting, but when Joe Hoeffel asked me to play a larger role in his campaign I had to accept. He is an amazing person, so on top of my other clients, I did my best to be as full-time a campaign manager as possible. As for Hoeffel "backing out" as you put it, I hope that everyone understands that this was not what he wanted. But because of the dynamics of this position, it would be very hard to run when your running mate, the "Hogiemeister" as you put it, changes his mind and prefer that you not be on the ballot. I hope this explains it well enough. Thanks, Daren Posted by: Daren | March 10, 2006 at 05:39 PM Yes....I typed "Hoagiemeister" too fast in my last post and spelled it wrong. I make mistakes. Posted by: Daren | March 10, 2006 at 05:40 PM there is more to this story, Darren should get off talking points and be to the point Posted by: john | March 23, 2006 at 08:54 PM A Progressive Pennsylvania: Joe Hoeffel for Lieutenant Governor Submitted by DanielUA on Fri, 02/17/2006 - 10:06am. I have made no secret that, despite what I consider a somewhat lackluster campaign for Senate, I really like and trust former Congressman Joe Hoeffel. Hoeffel strikes me as a down to earth, smart, authentically progressive candidate, who I would be thrilled to see run for another office in PA, be it Senator or Governor in 2010. And, now, Hoeffel has announced that in the Democratic primary, he is running for Lt. Governor. Awesome. From the Inquirer: Hoeffel said Rendell, in a private meeting on Wednesday, made no attempt to dissuade him from taking on Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll in the Democratic primary. He said he would not run over "the governor's active objections." "He said he is endorsing Catherine, but he is not urging me to drop out," Hoeffel said of Rendell. "We had a productive discussion, and I am moving forward." Hoeffel - who said he and Rendell have been "friends and allies for 30 years" - said he had begun circulating petitions, raising money and hiring staff and that he intended to make a formal announcement in the next few weeks. This is a big opportunity for progressives. I explain my reasoning below. Rendell cannot explicitly tell Joe to run, given that Catherine Baker-Knoll is the incumbent, and Rendell would look like he is pushing her off a cliff. So, instead, he basically just lets Hoeffel run, and hopes. But, make no mistake, a Hoeffel win would be a big win for Rendell. He would have one of the more known, and energetic Democrats in the State campaigning for him, and further pumping support out in Rendellphia. Along with Casey, in fact, the Dems will have three of their best known names, all running at once. And, as the next quote shows, there is a real reason to get Joe into what is largely a ceremonial post: "Three things are at stake," Hoeffel said. "To win the largest reelection for the governor, to achieve the most success in his second term, and build the party for the future." But Knoll, 75, with 11 statewide races under her belt, is a proven vote-getting machine. She also provides geographic balance to the ticket, whereas Hoeffel, who is from Abington, would tilt it toward the southeast. "She is attractive to voters who would consider voting for candidate Lynn Swann - that is, older residents, western Pennsylvania residents, and those who are pro-life," Democratic consultant Larry Ceisler said. First, if Joe wins, he automatically becomes the front-runner for Governor or Senator, depending on where Casey is. Second, and this is actually sort of big, we have to at least consider the possibility that Ed Rendell may not serve out a full term. I don't necessarily think he will be picked as a VP, though if his election goes well, it could happen, especially as a way to shore up crucial PA in the electoral college. But, even so, and we have a Wesley Clark/Hilary Clinton/Mark Warner/Russ Feingold in office, Rendell could easily be on the short list for something like Attorney General, a post he was once rumored to be offered by Bill Clinton. In that case, Joe Hoeffel becomes the Governor of PA. (As for Larry Ceisler's quote... Well, I just included that because I think Larry is wrong, I don't think she gets the Governor more than 6 votes, and because Larry reads the blog. Hi, Larry.) Finally, I just wanted to point out, that for some Democratic activists, there is going to be some bitterness in this election, especially when the reality of Casey winning the primary by 80 points sets in. But, one reason Casey will win so easily, and likely would have won no matter who ran, is that there is no progressive bench in Pennsylvania. This primary, and the election of Joe, can be a springboard to have a real progressive, waiting in the wings. Instead of going at each other's throats over what is a locked up Casey win, we can start the long process of making progressive PA politicians see that they have a real audience, and a real chance of winning statewide. » DanielUA's blog I also think that Hoeffel has Submitted by Ben Waxman on Fri, 02/17/2006 - 1:18pm. I also think that Hoeffel has connections with progressive communities. Specificly, he has reached out to the "netroots" in ways that other candidates have not. » login or register to post comments Bring back to reality Submitted by will greenfield on Thu, 02/23/2006 - 2:29pm. When will our PA Democratic Party realize we need the winners to continue. Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll has won statewide elections already and has many positive aspects, that Joe Hoeffel can never have. 1. Catherine Baker Knoll is a woman, 2. she is from the western part of the state which balances out a Rendell ticket. While granted Catherine Baker Knoll may have made some verbal mistakes, her political knowledge is far above many. All Joe Hoeffel wants is to line himself up for Gov. in 2010. How did the U.S. Senate race go in 2004 Joe? There are other candidates looking at the Governors race in 2010 like Dan Oronato who could keep the Governorship in Democratic hands which would be the first time a party has kept the seat for more than 2 terms in a long time. Joe Please wait to run for Lt. Gov in 2010 and let the winners work their magic as proven in a landslide four years ago and another will happen now. » login or register to post comments confused a bit Submitted by redfox1 on Fri, 02/17/2006 - 3:36pm. how does moving Hoeffel into an office create a progressive bench? or do you just mean that his success could encourage the party to give progressives more credit? acm "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." — Margaret Mead » login or register to post comments heir apparent Submitted by DanielUA on Fri, 02/17/2006 - 3:38pm. Because you are making Hoeffel, a progressive, an heir apparent to the next big office that comes up. » login or register to post comments Nevermind Submitted by will greenfield on Mon, 03/06/2006 - 11:08pm. If joe hoeffel ever in our lifetime becomes th Democratic Nominee For Governor, We minus well move to New York, because republicans will control Pa forever. Or maybe you are really a republican blogging as a Democrat » login or register to post comments I think I figured it out Submitted by DanielUA on Mon, 03/06/2006 - 11:42pm. You had a dog, and Joe Hoeffel kicked it? » login or register to post comments would you really move? Submitted by Ray Murphy on Tue, 03/07/2006 - 8:16am. it's pretty exciting that would leave the state mr. greenfield. what exactly do we have to do to make that happen? » login or register to post comments All of you guys are Joe Hoeffel Gun Eaters Submitted by will greenfield on Mon, 03/06/2006 - 10:53pm. All you do is hide behind this "Progressive" Bullshit, tell me what Progressive elected holds office in philly besides wilson goode junior » login or register to post comments so clearly Submitted by DanielUA on Mon, 03/06/2006 - 11:40pm. You are insane. And, ridiculously ignorant. So, I expect you to return frequently! » login or register to post comments Joe Gun Boys Submitted by will greenfield on Mon, 03/06/2006 - 10:55pm. Anyone of you want to meet me and CBK at City Hall and lets rumble to see who wins for Lt. Governor » login or register to post comments See above comment re: insanit Submitted by DanielUA on Mon, 03/06/2006 - 11:41pm. See above comment re: insanity. » login or register to post comments Hoeffel